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Ex-Wolves: Pat Bev defends KAT against Draymond Green's criticism

Green called out Karl-Anthony Towns for his defense against Nikola Jokic on Wednesday.

Will Ragatz

Feb 16, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley (22) and center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) celebrate after a basket against the Toronto Raptors during the first quarter at Target Center.
Feb 16, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley (22) and center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) celebrate after a basket against the Toronto Raptors during the first quarter at Target Center. / Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
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Despite last playing with him almost three years ago, Patrick Beverley decided to stick up for former Timberwolves teammate Karl-Anthony Towns after KAT was criticized by the Warriors' Draymond Green on social media this week.

Towns, who is thriving in his first season with the Knicks, was playing in a nationally-televised game against the Nuggets on Wednesday night. For whatever reason, the often-controversial Green chose to chime in on social media with some harsh thoughts on Towns' defensive approach against three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

"KAT in a full front on Joker… even if you win the game it don’t matter," Green posted on X/Twitter. "You will never hold the respect from an opponent to win at the highest level… pride must make you sit down and guard, even if you give up 40… Winning is a mindset, and in order to win a championship…You have to win the mental edge… that’s why only a few guys per era win all the championships… They understand that Thing."

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If it seems like that's an extreme conclusion to draw from Towns fronting the best player in the world in the post, that's because it is. Making it even more odd is that Jokic finished that game with 17 points on 15 shots, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in a 122-112 Denver loss. That's a far cry from his season averages of 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists per game. It seems like KAT executed his job effectively and helped him team win.

Also, Towns has played better defense on Jokic than most players in recent years, including in the Wolves' seven-game playoff victory over the Nuggets last May.

Beverley, who played with Towns in Minnesota in 2021-22, responded on Thursday morning.

"C'mon Dray give that man his flowers," he posted. "KAT was the main reason Minnesota beat the Nuggets last season. I know we competitive as athletes but KAT is a talent and is respected by his peers. Seems like you don’t respect him which is cool but KAT got real game."

Towns, who was traded from the Wolves to the Knicks in late September, is averaging 24.6 points and 13.7 rebounds this season. He was selected as the starting center for the Eastern Conference in this year's All-Star game.

KAT and the Knicks will face Green and the Warriors twice in March.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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